


Desiccation

by janetcarter



Category: Earth 2 (TV 1994)
Genre: Death, Dehydration, Earth, Gen, Pre-Canon, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-11
Updated: 2020-08-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:54:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25835335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/janetcarter/pseuds/janetcarter
Summary: "Have you ever watched anyone trying to eat dirt? Trying to suck the moisture out of mud?"A young Bess encounters a man whose death she can't stop.
Relationships: Bess Martin & Bess's Father
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3
Collections: Hurt/Comfort Bingo - Round 11





	Desiccation

**Author's Note:**

> For the Hurt/Comfort Bingo prompt "Thirst/Dehydration."

Bess had just been a little girl when she saw the body face-down in the dirt. Despite the smoky sky, he reminded her of worms getting fried to concrete. 

  
No one else seemed to take notice. 

  
She balled her tiny hands into fists and worked up the courage to go over, picking up a stick along the way.

  
"'Scuse me," she said softly, kneeling next to him. "Sir?" 

  
Nothing.

  
She hesitantly poked him with the stick a few times, until a creaky exhale made her jump. She landed about a foot behind where she started, watching the man's face slowly, slowly turn. His narrow eyes seemed to look right through her. 

  
Various croaks barely touched his cracked lips until Bess finally heard one she could make out. "Wa… ter…" 

  
"Water? You need water!" It should've been obvious, probably. But… she was just a kid. She'd seen a lot in her short life, but never someone looking like this. "I'll get you some!" 

  
She scrambled back inside and grabbed her father's canteen off the table. Just as she turned, a heavy hand grabbed her arm. 

  
"Where d'you think you're going with that, Bessie?" her father's gravelly voice asked. 

  
"There's… There's a man! He needs help real bad." 

  
He crouched down, getting eye level with her. A sigh, the same kind when she wanted to take in a sick little kitten. "We can't afford to give it."

  
"But…"

  
"I'm sorry, Bess." 

  
She swallowed, looking back to the dusty window. "What's gonna happen to him?" 

  
"He'll just have to manage on his own." 

  
"But…" Her heart snapped in two. How could her daddy be so cruel? "I already told him I'd help." 

  
"And I promised your mother I'd keep you safe. Can't do that if you give all our water to strangers."

  
"It's just a sip, I swear." 

  
He shook his head. "It always starts out that way. Give me the canteen." 

  
She thought she might cry. Looking to the floor, she loosened her grip. 

  
"Now, I want you to stay inside. Don't go giving that man any more of your time. Okay, Bessie?"

  
"Okay, Daddy," she murmured. 

  
"I just want what's best for ya," he added. She wondered if he said it to help convince himself. "Now, go on and listen to the radio."

  
He pat her shoulder and went back to his work-table. He was always doing odd jobs because mines work didn't make ends meet. She should be grateful she had what they did. But she kept gravitating back to the window, watching the man wither away. 

  
The radio was loud enough that her daddy didn't notice her slip out the door. 

  
"I'm sorry," she said heavily, folding her legs up as she sat beside the man. "I… I couldn't get water. But I can keep you company, til…" She took a deep breath. She was a smart girl. She saw her mom go. And… she broke the promise she'd made him. The least she could do was sit by his side as it happened. 

  
He didn't reply. She didn't know if he even could. 

  
So she sang him a song her mama used to sing to her until the sun set. When her daddy finally found her, she'd stuck the stick in the dirt beside the man. 

  
"I'm sorry, Bessie," her dad said.

  
She didn't wanna talk to him, so she kept her knees tucked in and her head down.

  
"You've got a good heart." He knelt beside her and closed the man's eyes. "That sorta thing gets you killed." 

  
"He didn't deserve that." Neither did her mama. 

  
"No. He didn't."

  
She was in tears before she knew it, curled up in her daddy's arms. When they left the man behind, Bess felt all wrong. For all she knew, that man had a little girl waiting at home, too, and… she'd be waiting for a long while. 

  
If that'd been her daddy, and no one helped him… She didn't know what she'd do. But she did have her daddy, strong arms wrapped around her sobbing little body, and it was only because of selfish deeds. It just… it wasn't right. 

  
Her daddy set her down on her bed and clicked on the radio for her: news about the Adair family and the pristine stations orbiting the earth. 

  
As her daddy tucked her in, because he was still alive to kiss her goodnight, she couldn't help wondering if anyone up in the sky ever had to suck down dirt. 


End file.
